Coca-Cola Defends Aspartame Safety In Targeted Advertising Campaign

According to Beverage Digest, soda sales are on the decline. Diet Coke fell 3 percent last year while regular Coke declined by one percentage point. That's thanks in part to campaigns against the drinks — sugary sodas have been cited as a leading cause of obesity, while diet sodas have come under attack for their artificial sweeteners. But now, the Coca-Cola Company has decided it's time to fight back. The soda giant created an advertisement to run in major newspapers defending the safety of aspartame, which is used as a sweetening agent in Diet Coke.

USA Today, one of the newspapers running the ad, reports that the soft drink giant will put out messaging reassuring consumers that the controversial sugar substitute aspartame is completely safe. "The safety of aspartame is supported by more than 200 studies over the last 40 years," states the ad.

In addition to USA Today, the advertisement will appear in The Atlanta Journal Constitution on Thursday, and next week in the Chicago Tribune. Vice president of social commitment, Caren Pasquale Seckler, explained to USA Today that the purpose of the media blast "is to bring to light what is often overlooked, that low- and no-calorie sweeteners which have been tested extensively are safe and beneficial in weight management."

Coca-Cola's sugar-free soda was first introduced in 1982 with the tagline, "Just for the taste of it!" Back then it was sweetened with saccharin. Diet Coke started using aspartame in 1983, when the sugar substitute became available in the U.S.